GREAT NEWS FROM

BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

In other news...

Black Rock School

will host a

 

in celebration of  

on Thurs., Sept. 20

at 10 a.m.

 

All are welcome to attend

the dedication ceremony. 

 

For more information, please contact

Gail Ostrow at 345-6767 or fullgail@optonline.net.

 

To learn more about peace poles, visit

Yesterday, guest speaker Henry Winkler had an audience of 375 in continuous laughter at the School Volunteer Association’s (SVA) 40th Anniversary Celebration.  The award-winning actor, director, producer, and best-selling children’s author is most commonly known for his acting role as “The Fonz” on the hit television show Happy Days.

Winkler spoke on the topic “If you will it, it is not a dream,” a saying he read on a gift received through fan mail. He captivated the audience with his witty stories, proverbs, and tales of the academic and professional experiences that have shaped his success.  He emphasized the need for students to remain positive and always strive to reach their goals.  “I was the king of negative thinking,” he said.  “But I learned from the sayings of one philosopher… ‘Do not put a period on the end of a negative thought.’ This builds a sentence, which leads to paragraph, which then becomes a thesis of negative thought.  Instead, allow the positive to come in.”

 

Although he struggled in school, Winkler never gave up, and as a result was accepted to Emerson College and the Yale School of Drama.  He encouraged all in attendance to realize their potential and help students to do the same.  “Your job is to find out what your gift is and give it to the world,” he said. “You are all unbelievably powerful…We are all a unique, special combination of qualities, and we have to be the most we can be in order to give the most to others.”

 

Winkler also shared his experiences of parenthood, discovering his own dyslexia, and helping his three children excel amidst inherited learning challenges.  He is now the co-author of the series Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Under-Achiever , which recounts the everyday adventures of a fourth grade boy with dyslexia.  The 16-books series has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list.  Winkler read an excerpt from the book one of his books and conducted a book signing after the program.

 

One of the key points of Winkler’s speech included an emphasis on the importance of the arts in education.  “My journey brought me here, and I traveled on the river of the arts,” he said.  “The arts and education liberate and feed the human spirit.” 

 

The 40th Anniversary Celebration marked the beginning of the SVA’s year-long celebration in which the association will recommit to service and support for Bridgeport public school children.